The 10 Stages of a Criminal Case

The 10 Stages of a Criminal Case If you have been arrested for a crime, you are at the beginning of what could become a long journey through the criminal justice system. Although the process may vary somewhat from state to state, these are the steps that most criminal cases follow until their case is resolved. Some cases end quickly with a guilty plea and paying a fine, while others can go on for decades through the appeals process. Stages of a Criminal Case ArrestA criminal case begins when you are arrested for a crime. Under what circumstances can you be arrested? What constitutes being under arrest? How can you tell if you have been arrested or detained? This article answers those questions and more. Booking ProcessAfter you are arrested you are then processed into police custody. Your fingerprints and photo are taken during the booking process, a background check is performed and you are placed in a cell. Bail or BondThe first thing you want to know after being placed in jail is how much its going to cost to get out. How is your bail amount set? What if you dont have the money? Is there anything that you can do that might influence the decision? ArraignmentUsually, your first appearance in court after you have been arrested is a hearing called the arraignment. Depending on your crime, you may have to wait until the arraignment to have your bail set. It is also the time that you will learn about your right to an attorney. Plea BargainingWith the criminal court system overwhelmed with cases, only 10 percent of cases go to trial. Most of them are resolved during a process known as plea bargaining. But you have to have something with which to bargain and both sides must agree on the agreement. Preliminary HearingAt the preliminary hearing, the prosecutor tries to convince the judge there is enough evidence to show that a crime was committed and you probably committed it. Some states use a grand jury system instead of preliminary hearings. It is also the time that your attorney tried to convince the judge that the evidence is not convincing enough. Pre-Trial MotionsYour attorney has the opportunity to exclude some of the evidence against you and try to establish some of the ground rules for your trial by making pre-trial motions. It is also the time when a change of venue is requested. Rulings made during this stage of the case can also be issues for appealing the case later. Criminal TrialIf you are truly innocent or if you are not satisfied with any plea deals offered to you, you have the option to allow a jury to decide your fate. The trial itself usually has six important stages before a verdict is reached. The final stage is right before the jury is sent to deliberate and decides on your guilt or innocence. Prior to that, the  judge explains what legal principles are involved with the case and  outlines the ground rules the jury must utilize during its deliberations. SentencingIf you plead guilty or you were found guilty by a jury, you will be sentenced for your crime. But there are many factors that can affect whether you get a minimum sentence or the maximum. In many states,   judges must also hear statements from the victims of the crime before sentencing. These  victim impact statements  can have a significant influence on the final sentence. Appeals ProcessIf you think a legal error caused you to be convicted and sentenced unfairly, you have the ability to appeal to a higher court. Successful appeals are very rare, however, and usually make headlines when they happen. In the United States, everyone accused of a crime is assumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law and has the right to a fair trial, even if they cannot afford to hire their own attorney. The criminal justice system is there to protect the innocent and seek the truth. In criminal cases, an appeal asks a higher court to look at the record of the trial proceedings to determine if a legal error occurred that may have affected the outcome of the trial or the sentence imposed by the judge.

Dispositive

Dispositive Dispositive Dispositive By Maeve Maddox This use of the word dispositive in a letter to the editor in my morning paper left me puzzled: Religious dogma and scripture tend to be grab-bags out of which all kinds of often-contradictory points can be made by [whoever] wants to reach in, and who is to say which of them is dispositive? I think I know what the letter-writer meant by dispositive, but I can’t help wondering why he didn’t use a more familiar word when addressing a general audience. Dispositive as an adjective signifies the quality of â€Å"directing, controlling, or disposing of something.† In Scottish law, a â€Å"dispositive clause† is the clause of conveyance in a deed, by which the disposition of the property is expressed. In US law, a â€Å"dispositive motion† is a motion asking a for court order that entirely disposes of one or more claims in favor of the moving party without need for further court proceedings. A dispositive motion does not necessarily seek to dispose of the entire lawsuit. The most common types of dispositive motions are the motion to dismiss and the motion for summary judgment. A dispositive motion may also be used to request that an indictment be dismissed or quashed, or for judgment on pleadings. (uslegal.com) French philosopher Michel Foucault used dispositive (dispositif) as a noun to refer to â€Å"the various institutional, physical, and administrative mechanisms and knowledge structures which enhance and maintain the exercise of power within the social body.† A Google search brings up about 2,210,000 results for â€Å"dispositive.† Here is a sampling of usage: A variety of factors will inform each stage of our inquiry; the factors that we consider today do not constitute an exhaustive list of factors relevant to the mainstreaming issue. Moreover, no single factor is dispositive in all cases. Though the speech at issue concerned the subject matter of his employment, and was expressed within his office rather than publicly, the Court did not consider either fact dispositive, and noted that employees in either context may receive First Amendment protection.   The Chinese middle class, I argue, is a  dispositive  class.   To grasp the true character of this  dispositive  (theoretical fragments focused on the formulation of a  political  problem) and its effects, we must jump a step. Historicizing Security Entering the Conspiracy Dispositive The  Bible, and only the  Bible, is dispositive  for all Christians. If one cannot in a dispositive way show the non-existence of god, what does the atheists’ position mean? Dispositive is a useful and meaningful term in specialized contexts, but it seems to me that some speakers may be using dispositive when all they mean is authoritative or conclusive. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:4 Types of Gerunds and Gerund PhrasesEmail EtiquetteComma After Introductory Phrases